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Various: Get A Haircut - 31 of the Best NZ Rock n' Rollers Ever

New Zealand rock archivist John Baker has done himself proud with this compilation, which positively bristles with raw rock'n'roll naivety and bourbon-swilling aggression. Compiled as a journey from rock's first tentative steps on home soil through to present day keepers of the faith like The D4 and The Datsuns, the accompanying booklet also provides insights to each track, written by an original member of each group featured. While many of the names from the early years such as Johnny Devlin, The La De Das and Max Merritt will be familiar, Baker's zeal for unearthing lost treasures means that many will not - Clyde Scott and the Zanyopolis anyone? How 'bout Peter Lewis and the Trisonic? Punk's halcyon days get a good covering from the likes of The Enemy, Terrorways, Proud Scum, Scavengers and others, although the post-punk era is revealed for the turgid, uninspired mess that it truly was. Things come right again in the '90s with some choice cuts from Axel Grinders, Smak and the criminally under-rated Shaft, while getting back to the 2000s noisy rock again seems to be in safe hands courtesy of the aforementioned bands. A music history lesson that will rock you.

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